There are almost as many characters offstage as on at the historic Alex. No fewer than five ghosts are said to inhabit the venue, among them former manager Leon Salberg.

The stage and cinema tycoon, known nationally as the Pantomime King, took over the venue in 1911 but the showbusiness world was shocked when he was found dead in his office on September 29, 1937. It’s said his spirit can still be heard and seen today.

The theatre’s other ghosts are a former master of the wardrobe department who also died in the building, a military man in a top hat, a stage manager called Dick who can be heard jangling his keys and the mysterious Grey Lady who was first reported by a member of staff in 1987.

There’s also a sixth paranormal phenomenon, with power being inexplicably drained from electrical devices.

Theatre staff said there had been no sightings at the venue in recent years. A spokeswoman told the Birmingham Mail: “I haven’t experienced anything ghost-related and we have a team of fairly new staff so we don’t have anyone who has had a personal experience.”

But ghosthunters from a group called UK Paranormal Consultants carried out an investigation at the theatre several years ago and reported several unexplained phenomena.

Knocking and tapping noises were heard, along with doors opening and closing, even though the theatre was closed for the night.

The investigators also found the batteries in their equipment kept going flat and experienced a “feeling of being prodded” by an unseen presence while sitting in the auditorium.

Aston Hall

ASTON HALL

SPOOK RATING: 4

Although it doesn’t have as many spooks as the Alex, Aston Hall has been described as the most haunted building in Birmingham, so perhaps its otherworldly occupants put on more of a show for staff and visitors.

The Jacobean mansion was built by the wealthy Sir Thomas Holte in the first half of the 17th century.

A cruel and powerful man, he locked his daughter Mary in her room when she tried to elope with her lover rather than marry the suitor he had chosen.

Imprisoned upstairs, she went mad and died 16 years later. Mary can now be seen as the White Lady, a shimmering figure who glides around the upper floors.

There’s also the Green Lady, who was Sir Thomas’s elderly housekeeper Mrs Walker. Her spirit is often seen sitting on a chair in the Great Hall, wearing a green, high-collared dress and appearing so lifelike that she is often mistaken for a member of staff in period costume.

Another story tells of the spirit of a servant boy called Dick who hanged himself in the attic after being accused of theft.

And kitchen staff have witnessed a glowing white ball materialising out of the wall and bouncing around at high speed before disappearing. This phenomenon has been linked to a cannonball that smashed into the house during the Civil War.

Warstone Lane Cemetery

WARSTONE LANE CEMETERY

SPOOK RATING: 4

This former burial ground in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter is known for its catacombs and there have been several tales of supernatural activity.

Among the sightings are the grey image of a young women in 1930s clothing passing through solid objects, including a wall and a parked car.

The sightings are accompanied by an unusual scent, sometimes said to be like pear drops but more likely to be the bitter almond smell of potassium cyanide, which was used in gold-plating and silver-plating in the Jewellery Quarter.

That suggests the unfortunate woman was a victim of cyanide poisoning, perhaps by accident in one of the factories.

In addition, a ghostly young man in a trenchcoat was once seen in the catacombs by a member of the public seeking shelter during a rainstorm.

In other reported cases in the vicinity, a man building an extension to the Birmingham Mint, in Icknield Street, was said to have seen an apparition and refused to return to the site.

And a worker repairing a machine shouted for a spanner and says he was handed one by an invisible presence.

Baskerville House and the Hall of Memory in Centenary Square

BASKERVILLE HOUSE

SPOOK RATING: 3

The house was built on the former estate of Easy Hill, the home of wealthy Birmingham printer John Baskerville.

After Baskerville’s death, the house was bought by John Ryland on July 14, 1791 – the same day that the Priestley Riots, by protesters targeting Christian dissenters, began to erupt on Birmingham’s streets.

A mob ransacked the house and three rioters broke into the wine cellar, unaware the building above had caught fire. They died in the inferno and there are reports of a creepy atmosphere in the basement and three eerie shadows appearing and disappearing.

Birmingham Town Hall

BIRMINGHAM TOWN HALL

SPOOK RATING: 3

Can anywhere in the country boast of a more distinguished ghost than Charles Dickens himself?

The famed author gave his first reading of A Christmas Carol at Birmingham Town Hall on Boxing Day 1853.

And it’s said a Victorian man, thought to be Dickens himself, can still be seen sitting in the empty hall, in the gallery or strolling along the corridors.

The figure was once approached by a member of staff only to vanish before their eyes.

The other resident spooks are a pair of stonemasons who died on January 26, 1833, during construction of the building.

John Heap and William Badger had been working on the external carved pillars when a huge block of masonry fell and crushed them.

They were buried at Birmingham Cathedral and staff working at night in the Town Hall claim to have heard the two men still chiselling away at the pillars.

Lights have also gone on and off and strange shadows have been seen.

Birmingham Council House

BIRMINGHAM COUNCIL HOUSE

SPOOK RATING: 3

The first stone was laid by Joseph Chamberlain, then the mayor of Birmingham, in 1874.

And it seems Brummagem Joe, as he was affectionately known, is still keeping an eye on the city he loved.

Council workers claim to have seen his spirit - clad in his usual attire of a black velvet coat, monocle and red neck-tie - sat behind his old wooden desk in the Lord Mayor’s office. But he is a modest spook who prefers to work in private, vanishing as soon as he is spotted.

Sightings are usually accompanied by the smell of cut flowers, which Joe insisted on having in his office.

There have also been reports of a shadowy monk shuffling along the corridors, linked perhaps to the monastery said to have been on the site centuries earlier, and the floating spectre of a former councillor who hanged himself in the entrance hall.

Birmingham New Street Station

NEW STREET STATION

SPOOK RATING: 2

A Jewish cemetery was dug up when the station was built in 1848 and as anyone who's seen the films Poltergeist and The Amityville Horror will know, building on burial grounds disturbs the spirits of the dead.

There have also been several suicides on Platform Four, which is said to be the station's haunted hotspot.

Many passengers have reported a strange unseen presence and the two spooks we know about for sure are Walter Hartles – a retired engine driver who shot himself with a revolver after separating from his wife – and a gentleman called Claude, who is seen wearing Victorian clothing and is said to have died after poisoning himself.

There have also been some tales of supernatural activity linked to a fatal train crash at New Street Station in 1921. Two passenger trains collided at 4.25pm on November 26, on the London & North Western Railway, with three people killed and 24 injured.